23rd Anniversary of Incheon Airport Corporation... "Leading Post-Corona with Paradigm Innovation"

Promotion of 10 Key Tasks
Development of UAM within the Year to Strengthen Transportation Services

Kim Kyung-wook, President of Incheon International Airport Corporation, is announcing the 'Top 10 Priority Tasks for 2022' at the '23rd Anniversary Ceremony of Incheon International Airport Corporation' held at the corporation's main auditorium on the 27th.
Photo by Incheon International Airport Corporation

[Asia Economy Reporter Yoo Hyun-seok] Incheon International Airport Corporation announced on the 27th that it plans to implement the 'Top 10 Priority Tasks for 2022' to prepare for the normalization of airport operations and strengthen the competitiveness of future airports in the post-COVID-19 era.

Kim Kyung-wook, President of Incheon International Airport Corporation, announced the 'Top 10 Priority Tasks for 2022' at the '23rd Anniversary Ceremony of Incheon International Airport Corporation' held at the corporation's main auditorium on the same day.

He said, "This year, we will focus all our organizational capabilities to carry out the 10 tasks without fail," adding, "We plan to make this year the first year of overcoming the COVID-19 crisis and the re-leap of Incheon Airport."

The 10 priority tasks of Incheon International Airport Corporation are organized into three main directions: △ Normalization of airport operations △ Strengthening smart innovative airport competitiveness △ Sustainable future growth.

First, to normalize airport operations, the corporation will begin a pilot introduction of Smart Pass (biometric-based passenger processing) in the first half of this year, based on Incheon Airport's world-class smart quarantine infrastructure. Through this, it plans to timely expand contactless smart services to lay the foundation for the early recovery of passenger demand, which has been depressed due to COVID-19.

Additionally, a COVID-19 testing center will be newly opened in the 2nd Passenger Terminal (currently operating three centers) to increase daily testing capacity. The corporation plans to expand immigration infrastructure capable of adequately handling the recovery of an average daily passenger volume of 120,000 (about 60% of pre-COVID-19 levels) by promoting government cooperation, expanding travel bubbles, and improving immigration procedures. Along with this, contactless services such as the Smart Pass service, which digitally converts passenger processing (check-in, security screening, boarding) using biometric information like facial recognition, will be strengthened to enhance passenger convenience and alleviate terminal congestion.

Furthermore, through self-help efforts such as △ operating a tight budget and reducing expenses △ discovering alternative revenue sources like overseas projects, the corporation aims to minimize the deterioration of financial soundness caused by COVID-19. It plans to achieve a monthly operating surplus within the year and manage the debt ratio within 100%.

By expanding new services based on 4th industrial revolution technologies, Incheon Airport will transform from a 'space for movement' into a 'life platform where customer value is created,' thereby strengthening smart innovative airport competitiveness. The 'ICN XR Metaverse Platform Service' will be launched within the year to provide passenger terminal navigation services based on extended reality (XR). In the second half of the year, the corporation plans to build a passenger management operation platform based on big data (analyzing real-time congestion status and waiting times) by expanding the installation of Internet of Things (IoT) sensors in blind spots within the passenger terminal.

Also, in the first half of this year, contactless food and beverage services will be expanded by introducing serving robots in airport food and beverage outlets and unmanned currency exchange services, providing innovative customer experiences.

In terms of transportation services, the corporation will improve convenience for passengers and airport resident employees by introducing next-generation transportation technologies such as △ pilot operation of autonomous shuttles in the long-term parking lot of Terminal 1 in the first half of next year △ laying the groundwork for the introduction of augmented reality (AR)-based smart transportation guidance services in the second half of next year △ 24-hour car-sharing services for resident employees in the first half of this year.

The development of a UAM (Urban Air Mobility) vertiport within Incheon Airport (infrastructure site review during 2022) will also be promoted to contribute to the government's K-UAM commercialization efforts. Additionally, in the second half of the year, the corporation plans to implement a smart safety platform by expanding the introduction of smart security screening equipment, based on the management value of safety first, and establish a leading safety management model at the 4th phase construction site to achieve zero major accidents.

For sustainable future growth, the corporation will advance ESG management by strengthening low-carbon and eco-friendly airport operations (E), reinforcing social responsibility management to protect jobs (S), and enhancing ethical management across the airport ecosystem (G), thereby creating sustainable future value. It will pursue joining RE100 (a campaign to switch 100% of corporate energy use to renewable energy) as the first airport in Asia within the year, declare a zero-waste airport based on the 3Rs (reduce, reuse, recycle), expand solar power generation, and develop green mobility and electric vehicle charging infrastructure within the airport to become an eco-friendly energy self-sufficient airport.

Through aviation industry-tailored job support projects, the corporation will prevent the collapse of the aviation industry ecosystem caused by the COVID-19 crisis and promote the discovery of new jobs such as startup support linked to passenger demand recovery. It will also strengthen human rights management strategies within Incheon Airport and spread an ethical management culture in the first half of the year.

Moreover, the corporation plans to create the Incheon Airport economic zone cluster to generate new aviation demand and domestic tourism demand, attract global cultural and artistic facilities and content, and strengthen branding as a cultural and artistic airport (Art-Port) to continuously secure future growth engines. Key projects related to the airport economic zone will be concretized, including △ establishing a master plan and reviewing new landmark complex districts in the first half of the year △ developing the Smart Racing Park scheduled to begin construction by the end of the year △ developing an art storage facility through business operator recruitment in the first half of the year.

The corporation will promptly respond to the increase in air cargo caused by COVID-19 by expanding logistics infrastructure, including the development of a smart cargo terminal utilizing 4th industrial revolution technologies, scheduled to begin operation in 2025, and strengthen marketing to attract new cargo routes. It will also timely promote the 4th phase construction project of Incheon Airport, establish mid- to long-term airport development strategies to expand the largest airport infrastructure in Northeast Asia, and actively pursue overseas business orders to export the Korean-style airport platform (K-Airport), thereby expanding South Korea's overseas economic territory.

Kim Kyung-wook, President of Incheon International Airport Corporation, said, "Based on the 10 priority tasks, Incheon Airport will lead the innovation of the global future airport paradigm," adding, "We plan to secure a competitive edge in the increasingly fierce global hub airport competition in the post-COVID-19 era."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.